Gallery: Reasons to be a Bugatti-holic

Synonymous with exclusivity, style, design, luxury, elegance, and passion.
Pictured: A Bugatti Veyron car parades in the streets of Molsheim, near Strasbourg, eastern France, on September 13, 2009 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Bugatti family company in Molsheim.

Johanna Leguerre, AFP/Getty Images

Bugattis are works of art.
Pictured: An ancient Bugatti car is displayed during the Paris Retromobile classic car show on February 2, 2011.prestigious collectibles.

Lionel Bonaventure, AFP/Getty Images

The legendary Type 41 "Royale".
Ettore Bugatti planned to produce 25 of the "Royale" and sell them to royalty. Considered the "embodiment of luxury," even European royalty wasn't buying such a car during the Great Depression. Of the six produced, three were sold. The Bugatti Royale is one of the largest and rarest cars today.

Handout, bugatti.com

Bugatti Veyron

Handout, driving.ca

The understated elegance of the logo.
The automaker's logo features a pearl-framed oval surrounded by 60 pearls, the stylized initials of founder Ettore Bugatti, with an elegantly simple word mark. Pictured: The logo of a Bugatti is seen parked in the Autodromo Nazionale Monza during the 8th Edition Of Coppa Milano - Sanremo Classic Cars Race on March 12, 2010 in Monza, Italy. The Coppa Milano-Sanremo is a classic car race for cars built between 1906 and 1973, and features 130 crews competing from all over the world.

Vittorio Zunino Celotto, Getty Images

The legend.
Pictured: A couple drive an old Bugatti Sports car at the 'Salon Prive' luxury and supercar event held at the Hurlingham Club on July 21, 2010 in London, England.

Dan Kitwood, Getty Images

Survival through multiple ownership changes.
Bugatti was founded in 1909 by Italian Ettore Bugatti as a producer of high-performance automobiles. The original brand failed, along with many other high-end marques of the time, due to the coming of WWII. It was eventually sold to an aircraft supplier in 1963.
In 1987, Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli acquired the Bugatti name and established Bugatti Automobili SpA. But due to bad timing and North American and European economic recessions, operations of the company ceased in 1995.
In 1998, Volkswagen AG purchased the rights to produce cars under the Bugatti name. Volkswagen Group has revived Bugatti's reputation as a builder of exclusive sports cars.
Pictured: Bugatti Automobiles president Franz-Josef Paefgen presents the Bugatti Super Sport during German car giant Volkswagen group presentation in Paris on September 29, 2010 a day before the opening for the press of the Paris Motor Show.

Eric Piermont, AFP/Getty Images

The Bugatti EB110.
The first car completed after the revival of Bugatti as Bugatti Automobili SpA was the 1991-1994 EB110 GT, marketed as the most technically-advanced sports car ever produced.
Michael Schumacher, seven-time Formula One World Champion, bought a Bugatti EB110 SS in 1994. The car was sold to Modena Motorsport in 2003.

Spurzem, Wikimedia Commons

The family business.
Ettore Bugatti's eldest son Jean was meant to be his successor, but Jean died in a tragic accident during a test drive near the Molsheim factory on August 11, 1939. He was only 30.

Handout, bugatti.com

The video games.
Drive a Veyron in lifelike video games like Gran Turismo 5. Watch here.

Screengrab, YouTube/Gran Turismo 5

Comes with matching transport truck.
This Bugatti Veyron was sold and delivered in a matching French Racing Blue Mercedes Atego transport truck.

Handout, JamesList, Luxist

Most expensive car in the world (2010-2011).
The Bugatti Veyron ($1,700,000) is by far the most expensive street legal car available on the market. Pictured: A model stands beside Bugatti Veyron 16.4 during a special media opening of the Beijing Auto Show on April 23, 2010 in Beijing, China.

Feng Li, Getty Images

James Knight, Group Head of the Motoring Department for the auctioneers Bonhams, opens the bonnet of a two seater Bugatti Type 57S Atalante in a photo studio in Hartley Wintney, 40 miles west of London. The rare Bugatti supercar left to gather dust in an English garage for half a century could fetch millions when it goes under the hammer next month.

ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images, Canwest News Service

Fastest car in the world (2010-2011).
The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is the fastest road-legal car in the world, with a top speed of 431.07 km/h.

Handout, Bugatti

This Bugatti Veyron vs. Euro Fighter Typhoon drag race.
Top Gear's Richard Hammond raced a Bugatti Veyron against a fighter jet. The race was close, but the jet won. See it here.

Handout, bbcamerica.com

This $259,000 watch.
The luxurious Bugatti Super Sport watch by Parmigiani was worn by test driver Pierre-Henri Raphanel while Bugatti broke the record for being the fastest street-legal car in the world. Parmigiani calls it "the fastest watch in the world."

Handout, Parmigiani.ch/Ablogtoread.com

Bugatti Veyron

Handout, driving.ca

Style.
Pictured: The Bugatti Veyron FBG with interior by Hermes sits on display outside the Hermes Boutique on April 2, 2008 in New York City.

Amy Sussman, Getty Images

This Bugatti Aerolithe concept.
The Aerolithe concept was designed by Douglas Hogg, a design student from Coventry University in the UK. Inspired by a 1935 Bugatti prototype from the 1935 Paris Motor Show, the 2025 Bugatti Aerolithe features the automaker's trademark grille, with aeronautical-inspired doors and split windshield and rear window.

Handout, dougsdistractions.blogspot/carbodydesign.com

Success in motorsports.
Ettore Bugatti's focus on motorsports led to great victories. Among them, a five-year consecutive dominance of the Targa Florio (1925-1929). Pictured: French driver Anne Nicolsosi competes in his Bugatti 35 B during the 5th edition of the 'Le Mans classic race' on July 10, 2010 at Le Mans, western France. This event, which takes place every two years, gathers cars manufactured from 1957 to 1961 which have already competed in Le Mans 24-hour endurance race from 1923 to 1970.

Jean Francois Monier, AFP/Getty Images

Bugatti won the first ever Monaco Grand Prix.
The first race, under the endorsement of the "Automobile Club de Monaco," was won by race car driver William Grover-Williams, driving a Bugatti. Pictured: The first ever Monaco Grand Prix winning car - a 1928 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix two seater is displayed at Bonhams in London 19 July 2005, prior to September's Goodwood Revival sale in September.

Martyn Hayhow, AFP/Getty Images

Bugatti won the 24 hours of Le Mans twice, in memorable fashion.
Bugatti's racing success culminated with their most memorable win: Driver Jean-Pierre Wimille winning the 24 hours of Le Mans twice, in 1939 with one car and little resources. Wimille won the race with Robert Benoist in 1937 driving a Bugatti T57G and with Pierre Veyron in 1939 driving a Bugatti T57C.

Handout, histo.annuaire-forums.com

The Bugatti Type 35.
With over 2,000 wins, the 1924 Bugatti Type 35 may be the most successful racing car of all time.

Handout, bugatti.com

This half-scale Bugatti T35.
Available in electric only, this exact half-scale replica of the Bugatti Type 35 has a top speed of about 22 km/h; the perfect gift for any child with motoring aspirations.

Handout, groupharrington.com

The brand is legendary for creating some of the most exclusive, expensive cars in the world.
Pictured: The Bugatti Veyron at the NAIAS on Tuesday, January 14, 2009.

Tyler Brownbridge, Postmedia News

Vintage Bugattis make rare and highly-valued - not to mention, beautiful - collectibles.
Pictured: A 1935 Bugatti T57 Gangloff coupe, 10 February 2006 in Paris during the Retromobile auto fair in Paris.

Lamborghini Gallardos have won Top Gear's Car of the Year twice.
The Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni were named in 2006 and 2009, respectively, the favourite car of the year by popular BBC show "Top Gear" favourite car of the year. The one criterion for the award is that all three presenters must come to a unanimous decision. Pictured: Publicity photo of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.

Handout, BBC

This cellphone.
Can't afford a full-sized one? This Bugatti Veyron cellphone is the perfect solution for the Veyron-obsessed tech geek.

Handout, techpin.com

The Bugatti plane.
Ettore Bugatti was involved in the creation of a racer plane in the 1930s, the Bugatti 100P. The plane was never flown.

Handout, performanceforums.com/daisey-designs.com

Bugatti Galibier Concept.

Bugatti, handout

Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport

Handout, Bugatti

Official merchandise.
For everything from watches, jewellery, and perfume to official Bugatti packaging and safes.

Handout, edition-bugatti.com

The Bugatti Veyron.
Named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron (who won the 24 hours of Le Mans with Jean-Pierre Wimille in 1939), the Bugatti Veyron is one of the most well-known cars in the world among car lovers, drivers, and passengers alike. Not only is the Veyron the most expensive modern car in the world, priced at $1,700,000, the Veyron Super Sport version is also the fastest street-legal car in the world.

Handout, Bugatti

The $3m supercar.
Bugatti is said to be developing a second model, code-named "Project Lydia" (after Ettore Bugatti's wife), which will be faster and more expensive than the Veyron. "Project Lydia" would be designed for the track (exceeding 400 km/h), but be a fully capable 1175-horsepower road-going vehicle.

Handout, trendhunter.com/autoblog.com

Few cars look as good with mirror-finish.

Handout, carpictures1.com

Crash a Bugatti, and it'll make the news.
Like this guy who drives his Veyron into a lake. See it getting towed out here.